GON Outdoors

What in the heck is that man thinking? Why do these things seem to only happen to him? If you're a regular reader, heck if you've ever read Life On The Back Page these questions may have escaped your lips. On this episode of the GON Outdoors podcast we visit with outdoor writer Daryl Gay with the hope of finding some answers to these questions. Join us for an entertaining look into Daryl's adventures with Jake The Hermit and his Life On The Back Page.

GON subscriber Tommy Lathem recently did a little more cleaning up at the hunting camp than he had anticipated after he took a shovel and a shotgun and killed 50 rattlesnakes within just 10 feet of his clubhouse.

Tommy, of Jasper, was not the first to arrive on Saturday, Aug. 31 at his 1,200-acre Upson County hunting camp situated on the banks of the Flint River outside of Thomaston. Others had already arrived to begin cleaning up in preparation for deer season.

“I asked one of the guys on my way down there that if he had a chance, he could start moving a lumber pile, and we’d cut it up for firewood. Just as soon as I pulled up in camp, he came around the corner white as a sheet,” said Tommy. “I said, ‘What is it?’ He said, ‘snakes in the wood pile. I bet there’s 50.’ I said there’s no way there’s 50 snakes in that woodpile.”

Tommy grabbed a 20 gauge shotgun and began to investigate. They moved one board and immediately saw a wad of five or six, 10- to 12-inch rattlesnakes, which he shot.

“Every time you would move a board, there would be a baby snake or two,” said Tommy.

Board by board, they began to take down the wood pile, which sat on top of a pallet and was only about 2 feet high. Tommy kept his shotgun handy but was able to kill most of the young snakes with a shovel.

“We just kept finding them,” said Tommy. “They didn’t really scatter, every once in a while one of them would try to get away. I had a feeling there had to be a big snake in there somewhere.

“It was 15 minutes before I heard one rattle. The big ones were in that pallet on the ground, and the little ones were intertwined in the wood.

“We got most of the wood off, and one of the big ones stuck its head out. I shot its head off. A few minutes later here came another one out. It ended up being three adults.”

The entire ordeal lasted about a half hour.

“When it was all said and done, we put them on that board, and there were three adults and 40 babies, but I shot a couple groups of the babies that just blew them away. I’d say there was probably 50,” said Tommy.

This wasn’t Tommy’s first rodeo with a rattler in camp.

“A few years ago, we were sitting around grilling and a guy went to the bathroom,” said Tommy. “He came back out, and he said, ‘Nobody move. Nobody move.’ There was one within 5 feet of guy with his back to it sitting in a chair. It was coiled up, and I took this same gun and killed it.”

A few weeks ago while bush hogging, Tommy said he killed a 6-foot rattlesnake with 14 or 15 rattles. Members of his club kill a few timber rattlesnakes every summer but nothing like what they experienced on Aug. 31. Tommy said he’s thankful that he was down that weekend and was able to take care of a potential dangerous situation in the future.

“If we hadn’t seen them, there would have been 50 rattlesnakes around our camp. I am relieved, but a lot of my members are scared. I told them we’ve killed all the snakes,” said Tommy.

Scott Williams, of Cochran, knows how to catch Lake Oconee crappie. Him and his dad Billy compete not only in Crappie Masters tournaments but in Crappie USA events, tournaments that send them regularly as far away as Texas. They’ve both won Georgia Slab Masters and the Peach State Crappie classics, some Crappie USA tournaments on Clarks Hill, and Billy won some of those bigger national events on Lake Oconee years ago.

In addition, they are two-time Crappie Master Florida state champions, winners of an Alabama Crappie Master state championship and Crappie Masters anglers of the year.

Scott says October is a great month to vertical jig timber and shoot docks on Lake Oconee.

“I believe anybody right now can go to that timber—whether it be in Sugar Creek or in Richland Creek or up the Oconee River, wherever there is standing timber in that deeper water—and if you know anything at all about fishing, you’re going to catch some fish,” said Scott. “The fish are there.”

Scott said to look for timber that is in 18 plus feet of water. Timber as deep as 40 feet is no problem, but expect most of your crappie to be suspended about 10 to 12 feet from the surface.

Scott uses four different pieces of electronics to help him locate and stay on crappie: 2D sonor, Humminbird Side Imaging, Humminbird 360 Imaging and the Garmin Panoptix LiveScope. Each piece of equipment serves its own purpose.

Scott said October is a great time to shoot docks for crappie that are feeding up for winter.

“You don’t need a depthfinder, just start fishing docks,” said Scott.

In October, look for docks that are in 12 to 18 feet of water. While fishing with the author, Scott just happened to run across a dock in 17 feet of water, and it was easy to catch a dozen crappie from it. Yes, it can be that simple!

“I like a 5 1 /2- to 6-foot H&H rod,” said Scott. “It’s specifically designed to shoot docks. It’s got a fast tip with a good backbone.

“I like a light jig, a 1/32- or 1/24-oz. I can keep that jig in the strike zone longer before the jig goes below the fish. Color really doesn’t matter. I like red and yellow under a dock, but it’s a confidence bait for me. I know guys like white/yellow.”

Georgia waterfowl biologist Greg Balkcom talks about the prospects for the 2019-2020 duck season. Details and info on the mallard and pintail limits that were cut in half this season, plus a look at a WMA opening up to quota waterfowl hunts for the first time.

Hunting season is over. Bucks begin to shed their antlers. Now what? On this episode we talk with Bruce Swearingen from 4S Wildlife about feeding programs, mineral sites and how hunters can establish programs that will enhance the deer herd on their property.